But Erdogan is less concerned about what the "international community says" and more determined to stem the seemingly unstoppable leaking of illicit audio recordings posted on Twitter and YouTube, allegedly documenting corruption in the highest echelons of the Turkish government, ahead of next Sunday's municipal elections.

What the Twitter ban indicates is that the Turkish leadership psychology is incapable of tackling effectively the myriad serious political, economic and external challenges facing the country. It does not appear inclined to implement structural and liberalizing reforms to prevent a "middle income trap" -- in other words a slow growth regime -- from taking hold. As I argued in a recent Chatham House report, in the absence of these reforms Turkish growth rates of 3% or lower will become the norm rather than the exception.

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Twitter users circumvent Erdogan's ban

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Twitter disruption in Turkey

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Twitter disruption in Turkey04:26

Turkey is addicted to continuous flows of fickle global capital and external debt to fund private consumption. Its economy suffers from persistently high current account deficits, meaning that imports vastly outpace exports and cannot be paid for by the low levels of domestic savings.

Unwisely, Turkey's focus on hubristic construction projects such as the third Istanbul airport and its capricious use of the law to suppress Twitter, rather than competitiveness and innovation, will most likely further undermine future business plans and -- critically -- the confidence of foreign investors.

Turkey's brand, which was on the rise during the first decade of this century, has witnessed a formidable hammering in the Middle East and North Africa. Very few in the region now look to Turkey as an inspiration for liberal politics and open markets. Tunisia has primarily supplanted Turkey on the consolidation of democracy, despite the latter's six decades of electoral experience.

Turkey is a vivid illustration that personality-based top-down governance and fragile institutions are not a recipe for political maturity and lasting economic success.